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Premier League Champions have finally opened their account in the transfer market with the signing of German defender Antonio Rudiger for £34 million. After a solid season with AS Roma coupled with Confederation Cup triumph, the 24-year old is high on confidence and should add more stability to the already existing rock-solid defense of Chelsea.
Rotation between David Luiz and Rudiger?
Chelsea were criticized for making a panic buy as they bought David Luiz during the final hours of the 2016 summer transfer window. But he proved everyone wrong with an impressive total of 69 interceptions at the rate of 2.10 interceptions per 90 minutes.
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Rudiger, on the other hand made 1.10 interceptions per 90. However, Rudiger won 43% of his tackles when compared to the 41% managed by Luiz. One rough edge for Rudiger would be his indiscipline. He committed 45 fouls in 26 league games which is much higher than the 29 fouls committed by the Brazilian in 33 league games. With the support provided by Cahill and Azpilicueta and the cover provided by Matic and Kante, Luiz was able to overcome his flaws and Rudiger can very well do the same.
Rudiger’s usefulness at the other end of the goal
Chelsea is known for their counter attacking ability and their set-piece threat. Rudiger managed to play 10 key passes in his 26 games at the rate of 0.41 key passes per 90 minutes when compared to 0.30 and 0.14 key passes per 90 minutes managed by Luiz and Cahill respectively. Rudiger also managed 2 assists and created 10 big chances which is more than any of Chelsea’s back 3.
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Even though Rudiger cannot match the free-kick taking and long range passing capability possessed by David Luiz, he can help Chelsea’s counter attacking style with his forward passing tendency shown by his 37 forward attacking passes made per 90 minutes
What does Rudiger transfer mean to Draft Fantasy Managers?
Nearly 75% of the Draft Fantasy managers owned Cahill and 79% of the managers owned Azpilicueta whereas only 55% of the managers owned David Luiz. This percentage is definitely going to decrease due the inclusion of Rudiger and the possibility of player rotation due to Champions league football.
Azpilicueta was drafted at the 49th round with Cahill and Luiz being drafted at 66th and 500th round respectively. All the above numbers show Luiz was not top priority for draft fantasy managers.
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From Chelsea, Alonso and Azpilicueta remain the number one choice for Draft Fantasy managers and Rudiger is definitely another good option to draft early given his defensive ability and attacking instinct.
With Chelsea playing Champions League football next season, it is highly necessary for them to strengthen their squad depth and they have taken the first step towards it and it looks like the right step too. Now it is left to the German International to prove the decision right.
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